Six families are suing Affordable Cremation Solution, the Lewiston funeral home and cremation firm that was shut down in June after regulators found unrefrigerated bodies stacked up prior to cremation. The families are represented by the Maine personal injury attorneys at Gideon Asen. After the death of a beloved family member, honoring that person’s memory means ensuring a respectful cremation or burial. Almost all of us trust funeral homes to provide these services, but unfortunately, some funeral homes abuse our trust. Funeral home abuse is never acceptable, but with the right personal injury lawyer’s help, a family can hold a funeral home accountable. The lawsuit, filed in August, says that Affordable Cremation Solution’s conduct was so “outrageous as to exceed all possible bounds of decency.”

How the Case Began

In June, a state regulator found the unrefrigerated remains of eleven people in the basement of Affordable Cremation Solution’s facility at 643 Main Street in Lewiston – including one person’s remains in an unsealed box because it was too big for a body bag. The business and its owner, Kenneth Kincer, had their funeral licenses suspended by the state Board of Funeral Services on June 14. Gideon Asen filed a lawsuit in Cumberland County Superior Court on behalf of six of the families on August 20. The lawsuit claims that Affordable Cremation Solution breached its contract with the families and intentionally and negligently caused emotional distress to surviving family members who trusted the company to handle their loved ones’ remains with care.

What Constitutes Funeral Home Abuse?

Most funeral home businesses are professionally managed and operated, and that’s what families expect. When a funeral home is not operated professionally, it may inflict severe emotional distress that no one should be expected to endure. Funeral home neglect or abuse may include:

• inadequate or improper embalming
• dropping, mishandling, or losing a body
• placing more than one body in a single casket or coffin
• placing the wrong body in a casket or coffin
• robbing, maiming, or abusing a body
• failing to store and refrigerate bodies properly

After their investigation, a state panel accused Kincer and Affordable Cremation Solution of unprofessional conduct and creating a public health problem by mishandling the remains of customers’ bodies. Kincer’s attorney claims that his client has been struggling with depression and substance abuse and is seeking help to deal with those issues, but Portland personal injury lawyer Taylor Asen, one of the attorneys representing the families, says Kincer is not the victim. “My clients are the victims and I’m sure that my clients are sorry to hear that Mr. Kincer has had personal hardship, but that doesn’t excuse his behavior,” attorney Asen told WMTW News.

When Should You Speak to an Attorney About a Funeral Home?

If a funeral home or a cremation service has not treated your departed loved one in a respectful, competent, or honest manner, contact a Maine personal injury attorney at Gideon Asen by calling our office. Our attorneys work on a contingent fee basis, so it costs nothing to begin the legal process, and we are paid only if we recover compensation – through an out-of-court settlement or a jury verdict – on your family’s behalf.